Nas pens open letter calling Donald Trump a racist

Nas has called Donald Trump “a racist” in a powerful open letter about politics during which he declares “my music is action.”

The letter, which is titled ‘Action Speaks Louder Than Words’ and sub-titled ‘No time for lippin’ in the so-called “Trump era”,’ was shared on the Mass Appeal site yesterday.

“We all know a racist is in office. People can talk their shit,” he writes. “Comedians can sound racist. People can go through their moments of that shit, but when you have the responsibility of being President and you carry on like that, you send a strong message to people outside of your group that they ain’t worth shit.”

Nas says that his way of addressing these issues is through his work. “Whatever president may be in office doesn’t affect my work directly. The way he affects people is what affects me. I observe what’s going on and that goes into my creative process. The person himself, I’m not caught up with. I don’t even have time for Trump or Pence. I don’t give a fuck.”

The Illmatic artist stresses that he’s not caught up in politics, but rather that his focus is on “what’s happening with real people in their everyday lives.”

He adds: “I got my own things to say and I been saying how I feel on the mic. Sometimes people ask me ‘Why you didn’t say this?’ or ‘Why you didn’t talk about that?’ You got a million people out here with a million different views and I heard it all. I talked about it all. I thought about most of the shit somebody could think of. I move through action. My music is action. What I’m giving you through my music is my actions.” [via Pitchfork]